NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UPPER EAST SIDE

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UPPER EAST SIDE; Silencing Some Noisy Bars

By ANTHONY RAMIREZ

Published: January 18, 1998

Residents of the Upper East Side perennially grouse about noisy bars and complain that no one ever does anything about them. But on Jan. 10, dozens of police officers and officials from the Fire Department and other city agencies cracked down on 13 bars that had drawn neighborhood complaints.

Summonses or notices of violation were issued to 10 of the bars, 3 of which were temporarily closed down. Mark Silver, the owner of one shuttered bar, Australia, accused the police of harassment and selective enforcement. ''There are trouble spots on the Upper East Side,'' said Mr. Silver, whose bar has since reopened, ''but I am not one of them.''

Australia, at 1733 First Avenue, near 90th Street, was accused of selling alcohol to under-age police cadets posing as customers, charges Mr. Silver said he planned to fight in court. Both Australia and a bar named Bear at 1770 Second Avenue, near 92d Street, were closed under the city ''nuisance abatement'' act, which is also used to close buildings that house drug dealers.

''We're not a crack house,'' said James A. Goldman, president of Gulf Coast Cuisine, which owns Bear. ''They came in like storm troopers. There must have been 35 officers. We were closed down on the basis of allegations that have not been determined in court.''

Bear, which reopened Monday night, lost $30,000 in revenue because it missed business from the football playoffs, Mr. Goldman said.

Reminisce Bar and Lounge, at 334 East 73d Street, near Second Avenue, was closed by the Fire Department for ''serious safety violations,'' which included overcrowding, a police spokesman said.

Marcus S. Linial, a co-owner of the bar, denied that there were more patrons than the 178 allowed. He acknowledged that his doorman had admitted an under-age police cadet but said that the doorman recognized the young man's companion as a police officer in her 30's. ''We knew she was a cop,'' Mr. Linial said. ''When a cop comes into your bar, it's a respect thing. It would have been embarrassing to ID them.''

Gifford Miller, a City Council member whose office is a few doors away from Reminisce, said that in the last year he had received more than 20 complaints about the bar, which holds popular weekly reggae concerts.

''This is a culture clash that comes from the residential nature of the block and the commercial nature of the bar,'' said Mr. Miller, who said he favors more police crackdowns. The bars that were issued notices of violations are Polly Esthers, Cross Roads, American Spirits, Dapper Dog, American Trash, Kelly's Corner and Who's NYC. ANTHONY RAMIREZ